capabilitys of a .223


struttinhoyt

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I have a New England .223 with a Simmons 8 point 3-9X40 its a pretty sweet shooting little gun at about 100 yds i know but i was wondring the outer limits to it......what has been yalls longest shots with the 223 i was wondring if it was capable of shooting around 300 yds or so......... and at that is it still gonna have the penatration and momentom to kill a deer at those distances......... smirk.gifgrin.gif this isnt my main deer gun but hey I thought what the heck if itll shoot accurate at that far id like to shoot that and take advantage of the cheaper shells other than my 270 not that I dont like the nock down power of the 270 smile.gifwink.gif

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Re: capabilitys of a .223

I don't think the .223 is a very good choice for deer at the ranges you suggest.

My tables show that if your 270 is zeroed at 150 yds. and a .223 at the same, the 223 only has 443 fpe. at 300 yds., 295 at 400, and 197 at 500 yds..

The 270,however has 1527 fpe. at 300 yds.,1226 at 400, and 974 at 500 yds..

The drop would be -6.0" at 250 yds., -11.8" at 300 yds.with the .223 and with the 270 the drop is a little less. 270 drop would be -5.3 at 250 yds. and -10.0" at 300 yds..

This table is using 24" barrel length on both rifles, and 55 Grn. pointed soft point for the .223 and 130 grn. pointed soft point Core-Lokt in the 270.

I'd use the .223 for varmints, where loosing the animal wouldn't matter much, but definitely not for deer.

This is just my opinion and you may get many others which conflict with mine.

Hope this info. helps. .....popgun

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Re: capabilitys of a .223

If you want to shoot deer over 100 yards, stick with the .270 Winchester. The .223 Rem will do the job with the proper setup. Its not a long range deer gun. The best bullets for deer sized game are the 60 gr Nosler Partition. Since the NEF has a 1 in 12" twist, it can not shoot heavier bullets that are needed for deer.

The .223 Rem is a varmint gun. It works well on varmints/predators to 500 yards. I know, I have shot them that far with mine. If you want to shoot bigger crittes, use a proper gun.

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Re: capabilitys of a .223

I had a student (who was a very good shot) who shot a 10pt a few years back at 300yard with a ruger mini 14 .223. She said that it took only 1 shot. This is a girl who reloads herself and practices shooting acorns off trees at 200 yards. If your not that good with it I wouldn't shoot more than 150 yards.

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Re: capabilitys of a .223

[ QUOTE ]

aight so were should i zero the 223 in at.........150 or so????

if i did that wat should my range be?????

[/ QUOTE ]

I will play your silly game, what should your range be? Whats your setup? Whats your load? What is your target (deer or small game)? More info needed.

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Re: capabilitys of a .223

Actually, you never mentioned varmints until your last post. Anyhoo, here are the ballistics for that load. Winhester .223 Rem Ballistic Silvertip 55 grain

Personally I prefer the 50 grain bullets in most of my .223 Rem varmint shooting. If I am shooting a fast twist barrel like in my AR15, I shoot the 70 gr Berger bullets for long range usage.

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Re: capabilitys of a .223

my girlfriend has a 223 to deer hunt with

it is also a nef

she only weighs 103lbs so much more and she will fall out of the tree

her first deer dropped in its tracks at about 60 yds

but her second was never recovered and the shot was less than 100yds

im trying to get her to upgrade to a 243

223 are for 10year olds shooting their first deer

stick to gophers and groundhogs

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Re: capabilitys of a .223

[ QUOTE ]

223 are for 10year olds shooting their first deer

[/ QUOTE ]

Wrong! Its for an expert, patient, and knowledgable hunter that has enough self control to pass on a shot that is not exactly perfect. Its not an entry level gun. If the kid can't handle recoil of a proper big game gun, stick with small game.

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Guest thundar7

Re: capabilitys of a .223

i wouldnt recommend a 223 for deer hunting **** i took deer 300+ yards with my 270 thats all i ever needed i would have to say u want light recoil gun go with the 7mm.08 those i heard are a real nice gun my dad loves his

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